Editorial: Earth Day should be every day

Thursday

Apr 22, 2010 at 12:01 AMApr 22, 2010 at 10:21 PM

In 1969, a Wisconsin senator was concerned about the rapid decline of the U.S. environment. The senator, Gaylord Nelson, asked Americans to take action on behalf of the planet. His concerns led to the establishment of Earth Day in 1970, originally conceived to be a series of classes, lectures and seminars on the environment, man’s role in it, and what people could do to improve environmental quality.

In 1969, a Wisconsin senator was concerned about the rapid decline of the U.S. environment.

The senator, Gaylord Nelson, asked Americans to take action on behalf of the planet. His concerns led to the establishment of Earth Day in 1970, originally conceived to be a series of classes, lectures and seminars on the environment, man’s role in it, and what people could do to improve environmental quality.

Before Earth Day was initiated 40 years ago, littering was a common problem on American roadways. Many of you may remember the “crying Indian” television commercials in the early 1970s, where a Native American weeps as he sees trash thrown out of car windows, choking streams and littering scenic byways.

Before that first Earth Day, people weren’t all that concerned about vehicle emissions, or gas mileage. The words “carbon footprint” weren’t linked.

Waterways were choked with trash, debris, and industrial waste. Some readers may remember that one large waterway even caught on fire in 1969: the Cuyahoga River, which flows through Cleveland, Ohio, on its way to Lake Erie. This caught the nation’s attention and brought about tighter water pollution controls.

Since that first Earth Day, America has made much progress, including the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Clean Air and Clean Water acts at the federal level, and an increased awareness of environmental issues, acceptance of recycling and “thinking green” at the personal level.

“Earth Day has always been about people from different backgrounds and different walks of life coming together on behalf of a cause bigger than ourselves,” President Obama said in remarks Wednesday from the White House. “And with that spirit of community, we must continue the hard work to make the dream of a clean energy economy a reality, and pass this world on to our children cleaner and safer than we found it.”

The president is right. While much progress has been made, much more remains to be done. Alternative energy sources must be developed. We must continue to make small changes in our lifestyle to ensure the best use of what resources we have.

After all, to borrow from another environmental awareness commercial from the 1970s: this planet isn’t ours to do with what we will. It’s on loan to us from our children. Let’s take care of it.